General Cycling Discussion - Why did you start bicycling as an adult?

We all have ridden bikes as kids and generally to get places or go fast because we couldn't drive.

But as an adult, what kept you riding past your childhood or what got you back into bicycling if you quit after childhood.

For me, I started bicycling again for the thrill of desert mountain biking. I quickly graduated to some very technical trails and the bug bit me, so then I bought a bike for bar hopping (couldn't stand the thought of having a $2,000+ Kona stolen) and now have started road cycling to lose weight and stay in shape.

So for you, what was it? exercise? thrill? mode of transportation? other? Do you have a seperate bike for each purpose, or do you ride the same one for everything you do?

My waist lne expanded from 29 to 30 inches.
300,000 miles later my waist line is back up to 30 inches.

I rode everywhere on a BMX as a kid. Then high school came and I didn't ride at all, once college hit, I started back again with great gusto. It was mainly a money thing for me. Bicycling is cheap transportation you know. It's been about 15 years since college and I still ride being car free. There's been many times when I could easily afford a car, but I chose not to. I enjoy living debt free and cycling helps me with this.

In 1960 my folks gave me a bike for my birthday.
Felt like I had been given wings, wings of wheels - been riding ever since.

Good question ...I never really stopped ... for a while I was a strictly recreational cyclist when I had my motorbike.

But for as long as I can remember my bike was my way to get places without having to rely on (usually) unreliable people. It was when I was a child and as I got older the distances just got longer.

+ I liked being the one who could drink because I didn't have to drive home.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEhpUov-adU

I rode everywhere in my late teens, couldn't afford a car. I recently rekindled my love for biking for a few reasons.

1: It is a way for me to get back into shape.
2:I have moderate to severer psoriasis, trying to keep ahead of psoriatic arthritis.
3: I simply love the feeling of freedom when pedaling my bike.

I started riding seriously when I was eleven or twelve and entered my first race at thirteen. I only raced until I was 20, but I still ride and now I'm 40.

For me it has mostly been about exercise, time to think, exploring the world, thrill, and many other reasons. I've had roadie phases and mountain bike phases. I would love a separate bike for each purpose, but for years I lived in a small apartment and needed one bike to rule them all. I do still have my old racing bike (1988 Pinarello) and I went through a couple of Fisher mountain bikes. My one bike to rule them all is a Rivendell Atlantis that is used for commuting, road rides, and off-road rides. It's not so good for technical singletrack, but great for all road/trail conditions up to that. It's a touring frame set up with a rear rack, handlebar bag, 700x35 tires, fenders, triple chainring, and moustache bars.

We live in a house now, so since I have more room to store bikes I bought a used Kogswell to set up as sort of a fair-weather fast bike. My old Pinarello isn't so comfortable to me anymore. The Kogswell is a larger frame and I can raise the bars higher. I would love to get another mountain bike too. But the Atlantis will remain my default bike. It fits my life really well. I commute to work on it. The commute is only four miles so on my lunch break or after work I often go for a longer ride that might include road, trails, multi-use paths, forest service roads, etc. Wherever my whimsy takes me the Atlantis can go there, and it can haul back some groceries and beer as well.

Sean

I stopped riding as soon as I got my driver's license. Brought my teenage mountain bike to college junior year to ride to campus. I soon realized that my bicycle was a much more convenient option than relying on Metro Transit. Rode that bike into the ground, and then rode it some more. Eventually I realized that I would need to start learning how to do bicycle maintenance myself instead of getting ripped off by the bike shops, and started going the local gutter punk run bike co-op to teach myself. Got a ****ty 70's dept store road bike, rode that until the seat stay weld cracked. Two summers ago I got a decent quality single speed conversion road bike and haven't looked back since.

My favorite part about riding a bike is that you don't have to spend hundreds of dollars to keep it running. Switch out a spare part you have lying around here, dig around in the used bin at a co-op there, and you can keep it running relatively cheap.

Weight gain did it for me.

I always had a love of bikes. I really took a layoff from riding, I worked in bike shops while in high school and after college for fun. Now I do all my own wrenching and have a basement full of bikes. I find building my bikes a favorite activity, pouring over cataloges and internet to find the part for the build and when it's done, it's unlike any other bike.

I ride since my knees don't like me running. I feel like I can fly when I ride, I'm in total control and I can go forever. The only other feeling that is close is scuba diving.

I agree with sean000 that it is gives me time to think, even better, not to think. I also do a week tour every year, so I need to ride to get into a reasonable shape to tour.

Being an older retired senior, I needed something to help keep off the weight and retain muscle tone.
After thousands and thousands of miles and lots of compliments from the opposite sex, it has been well worth it.

It's hard to find parking spots around here and there is a lot of traffic congestion, so I started riding.

Paul

I quit smoking and used my cigarette money to buy a bike.

I have always loved cycling and rode a lot as a kid and teenager. I even rode some during college and afterward as well. For a long time I rode less as I travelled a lot for work, but that changed and now I travel rarely for work so the last several years I started getting back into it as I enjoy it, it helps keep me fit and I still love bikes!

I've always loved riding bikes and in college my buddies and I were pretty hardcore mountain bikers, or at least we thought so. We would hit the trails all the time, many of them were extremely technical. Fast forward a decade later, since my wife and I moved to Houston from Michigan in 2007, I've never been on any mtn biking trails, just paved. And while we both have mountain bikes, my wife thought getting a road bike would be more ideal. So that rekindled my love for biking once again. My wife will be getting a road bike for Christmas from Santa, and I'll be getting one for myself as well! :D

it was something to do.

We all have ridden bikes as kids and generally to get places or go fast because we couldn't drive.

But as an adult, what kept you riding past your childhood or what got you back into bicycling if you quit after childhood.

So for you, what was it? exercise? thrill? mode of transportation? other? Do you have a seperate bike for each purpose, or do you ride the same one for everything you do?

1) My parents rode bicycles all while I was growing up, my father still rides bicycles, and my mother still rides indoors and is talking about joining my father on their tandem again. I grew up in a house full of bicycles, with bicycle gear everywhere, Bicycling Mag in the bathroom ........ Why would I entertain the idea of stopping? Bicycles are a huge part of my life.

Actually, I did slow up a bit between the ages of 17 and 23 ... I only went out on a few rides each summer those years, usually with my father. But I maintained an interest and something of a fitness level through walking, jogging, and weightlifting. I got back into cycling when I was 23 because I wanted to do a particular tour. Didn't end up doing the tour, but I was up to riding 50 mile rides by the end of the summer, and so I just kept going.


2) Yes, of course I have separate bicycles for different purposes. At one point recently I counted up all the complete bicycles and frames in our house (my husband, Rowan, and I) and we had over 20. I think Rowan has disected several for their parts and the unusable bits and pieces have gone back to the tip now so there may be less. I haven't done a recount this week.

Commuting. My work location changed so that it was only 7 miles from the house. So just for the heck of it I tried riding to work. That was nearly 3 years ago. About 2/3 of my miles are commuting miles.

My favorite part about riding a bike is that you don't have to spend hundreds of dollars to keep it running. Switch out a spare part you have lying around here, dig around in the used bin at a co-op there, and you can keep it running relatively cheap.

Another very good reason why I continue to use my bike ... every time I start to fall in love with driving or riding a motorbike something happen's which ruin's it for me.

For my motorbike it was a foolish speeding ticket which raised my insurance so much I couldn't afford it any more .... and just earlier today me and my fiancée had to dig into our wedding fund to keep the car going for another year.

Never had any trouble like this with a bike .... even when my two high end MTB's was stolen .... I could easily and cheaply get a bike which would get me back on the trails. When my commuter was stolen I had a replacement within days.

As far as I can remember, never had a bike as a kid, nor did my family members. ( again, not that I can remember. )

Started cycling in my 30's to strengthen leg muscles for skiing. Got somewhat enthusiastic about it, which tapered off, then found as i approached 50, that my fitness had gone out the window. Finished the lease on the car, and didn't renew. Sometimes find that not having a car on call is a hassle, but more often find that taking the bike is the right move.

My problem, is that if i had a car, it would be too easy to back slide into taking the easy way.

I really started riding my bicycle after my beloved passed away. I hear her while I'm riding......be careful.....wear your helmet......be polite to pedestrians......be polite to car and their drivers........Riding has filled the void to an extent.....I think she'd be happy that I'm keeping busy in a positive way. 178785

+1 for College rider. It was "transportation" not "recreation".

For me it was last year, when I finished my first year at university and had to move off campus. I fixed up my Dad's old 10 speed mountain bike and brought it with me to the ex-farm I was living on. I had a car parking permit, but used it sometimes to save on petrol. This year I'm within urban Guildford and can't get a parking permit, so I'm bicycle commuting full time. I like being able to do my own maintenance without having to spend a lot on parts.

Transportation mostly. My high school was right next door so I never really needed a bike then but when I started university I got annoyed at being dependent on public transport all the time, a car made absolutely no sense, so I got a bike and immediately loved it. (and it's by far the fastest way of getting around anyway)

Transportation and living in the city. I started commuting when I realized that I'd either have to drive to work every day (which I hate) or spend 2 hours on public transit every day. No thanks.

Because my Father and Stepmother decided that it was time for me to leave and I hadn't bought a car yet.




I was already riding to work, to friends, and to school, so there really was no big gap between childhood bicycling and adult bicycling.

Health. It was either exercise or take blood pressure pills for the rest of my life. The doc never even gave me the choice, he wanted me to go on pills. After reading the side effects of the pills and doing some research on lowering blood pressure online, I made the choice not to listen to the doc. I've always enjoyed cycling, so I started once again. After riding, changing my eating habits and strength training for a month, I'd lost 5 lbs and dropped my pressure from low high to a low healthy. A year later I'm 25lbs down, no longer losing weight but still losing girth. Cycling is becoming a bigger and bigger part of my life. As it does, both body and mind are working better.

Another one who never stopped riding. Getting one's drivers license on your 16th birthday is typically a much anticipated rite of passage in this country, but I didn't bother with it until I was 18.
And the only reason I got my first road bike was because riding a BMX bike (with the unpadded plastic seat) 35 miles to the beach and back in the same day was harrrrrd.

My ex was in a car accident and my car was destroyed. I grabbed a bike and didn't look back.

Another one who never stopped riding, although there have been times in my life when it was fairly sparse... mostly during college. I ride more now than ever. The mental rush I got when my dad launched me on my old Sears solid-tired kids bike, with the training wheels off, almost 50 years ago is still clear in my mind. This was at a time when it seemed weird if a kid didn't know how to ride a bike.

This was at a time when it seemed weird if a kid didn't know how to ride a bike.

Yes! There was huge peer pressure to learn to ride a bicycle around about the ages of 5 or 6. I started commuting by bicycle when I was 6, and kept that up on and off ever since.

Was coerced into a weeklong bike trip with a church-based youth group early into the 10-speed craze, and had an EPIPHANY! Spent the next 2 years pedaling everywhere, found my 'forcibly-estranged' dad (mom ran him off, with the help of her lawyer), registered for high school commuted to my first job, etc. Then, like so many, abandoned the bike for the car.

But I never forgot the feeling of eagle-like freedom on two wheels, and tried over the years to recapture that joy. Took until I was 41, at which time I SWORE I'd never give it up again. A decade later, I'm car-free.

I have a few goals in life -- seeing my kids find joy in their lives, for one -- the most ambitious of which is "90 minutes on the bike on my 90th birthday." One, maybe two in my family tree have made it past 85.

I don't think I've ever gone a year where I didn't at least ride some. I never gave it much thought. I've always just enjoyed riding my bike, and can't imagine why I wouldn't do it.

I had a roommate who rode a bike, but I really became converted after renting bikes in Cape Cod. I had a blast and bought a bike a week later.

I think a big part of it was seeing how fun and fast a "real" bike was. As a kid, I only ever rode department store BMX style singlespeeds. Experiencing gears and hand brakes was a revelation. Suddenly the bicycle seemed like it could actually be useful in getting around!

I always had a love of bikes.

I ride since my knees don't like me running. I feel like I can fly when I ride, I'm in total control and I can go forever. The only other feeling that is close is scuba diving.

I agree with sean000 that it is gives me time to think, even better, not to think. I also do a week tour every year, so I need to ride to get into a reasonable shape to tour.
My reasons exactly . We have shared interests in touring and scuba.. However a bike accident and a ruined shoulder has somewhat jeopardized my scuba interests. Mostly beach dives... Running once had it's appeal , but had I kept it up, my knees would have resulted in me becoming a couch potato.. Doc once told me, your knees are not made for running. I found out i was a 'supernator,' blowing out shoes in no time..
Shoulder surgery had no effect on my riding. Cycling being number one.. To my Doctor's horror I would ride to shoulder therapy for all to see. And before therapy, I'd ride my bike on a trainer . But at least for that I waited one month until my shoulder was out of a sling.

A bit of exercise, a bit of I-don't-have-to-be-stuck-in-traffic, a bit of "parking in that area sucks and I'd rather just lock up my bike," a bit of "Why bother driving there when it's not even five miles?", a bit of I don't like running, etc etc. :thumb:

This was at a time when it seemed weird if a kid didn't know how to ride a bike.

Ah, yes. Every kid in my neighborhood had bikes, too. I can't imagine that anything has become so dangerous about society that would keep kids from riding bikes today. Nothing's changed -- but perception has changed.

My ex was in a car accident and my car was destroyed. I grabbed a bike and didn't look back.

Not even for the ex? :innocent:

Since I was 6 or 7 I have never been without a working bicycle for any length of time. I'm 55 now, so my reason for cycling as an adult is that I became an adult.

I've always loved bikes.
I learned to wrench early on, with my father's guidance, and started a small neighborhood repair business at the age of 12. At the time (Mid-late 70's) My friends and I would go on long rides from the suburbs into dowtown Austin - I shudder to think of my son doing what we did. At 14 I entered my first road race and finished second in my age group, and top 20% overall. I raced through high school and college, but found that I enjoyed good training rides more than races, even though I did well in them.
I never really stopped riding.

I've done all of my own maintenance and builds, with the only exception being chasing BB threads because I don't own the tool for it.

Now I ride for transportation and for pleasure, though I tend to keep my old "training" tendencies to ride hard wherever I go.

I started riding as an adult, for transportation, while I was in the army. It was three miles to the airfield from the barracks, I didn't have a car or a license, and I hated bumming rides from guys that I normally wouldn't speak to. I got discharged, got married, sold the bike, got divorced, got my license, drove about twenty years.

In 2008 gas hit 4.07, my truck got about 14 mpg, I live ~6 miles away from work, I decided to try bike commuting to save money, :lol:, rediscovered the fun and joy of riding. I finally talked my wife into letting me get rid of the truck.:D

I think I was still 7 when I learned how to change a tire & tube, and soon after I got my first multispeed bike at age 12 (Huffy 10sp ATB; kept it 'till it got stolen 15 years later), I figured out how friction shifters worked. I have to admit that seeing some of the questions around here is like hearing somebody ask how a hammer works.

Not that I haven't asked any simple questions before, but still... :innocent: :D

I began again 'cause running is absolutely out of the question. Stopped riding about ten years ago and have become a fat bastid. Don't like that at all. I've never been trim but....well it sucks. Riding is helping correct that. And I enjoy it as well.

I started around 5 or 6 then took off doing it for most of jr high and high school. I could walk most places and most of the roads where I lived barely could handle cars for the town's population and the winter visitors. Plus, it was a major agricultural city which means tractors, tons of mud year round, and the streets were pretty ruined when you got out to where I was. It is starting to change now, but I don't visit more than once a year now to even try.

When I went off to college, the buses could hold my bike, and getting around was easier on a bike, especially to the stores surrounding the campus. Fast forward to graduation, and I stopped cold turkey because of the commute to my job for the DoD. It carried over to when I got a job closer to my office, and my eating habits caught up with me. A trip to the doctor for an unrelated heath concern showed I had gained 15-20lbs in 9 months. I started recording my diet and biking to my office on days when I don't have night classes or wine tastings. So far I have lost 25+ lbs since I started again in June and probably healthier than when I ever have been before. Barring mechanical problems or late nights/lack of sleep, I get in a good 60-100 miles a week doing that alone.

I used to ride BMX as a kid. I went almost everywhere with it. Then, my BMX got stolen around 1987. Bicycling abruptly stopped. My parents won't buy me a replacement.

Around late spring of 2005, I saw a bicycle (Walmart MTB) hanging at my parent's garage. It was my brother's who joined the service some years earlier. The bike looks lonely and so was I. I took it down and I rode it for a few miles, then a few more miles, then...I realized... I'm already 25mi away from home. :) It was a great feeling. It felt like meeting a long lost friend for the first time again.
That's how I got started on ridding again and it continues to this day.

Well in the 80s in Germany I rode a lot because with the great trials systems there I could get to town a lot quicker on the bike than in my car. Then this spring I started biking in earnest due to health issues. I was a life long distance runner whose knees and lower back gave out in 2005. By this year I was 238 lbs with a fatty liver threatening to fail. Also had both knees operated on in 2009. Anyway, starting eating better and walking a lot this spring and lost about 15 lbs. Then I tore my meniscus again just walking on a path and the frustration of the situation got me on a bike. I've now lost over 55 lbs and ride pretty much daily. I've got a trainer to use inside this winter as our Utah winters get pretty nasty.

I received my first bike when I was 8 1/2 years old but the bike was way too big for me. I was nearly 11 before I was able to ride it. You know the Calvin and Hobbes comic strip? Calvin tries to bike ride but the bike attacks him? That was me! Once I figured out "balancing" I was fine on my bike and rarely got off it. Too bad I was too big for it a few years later. I couldn't afford a new bike and I stopped riding for 21 years.

Then one day I was looking at a bike locked to a parking meter and I thought "I loved riding as a kid. Why not do it again?" Might lose some weight, get a little stronger and avoid sitting squished on a bus after a tedious workday. And oh how I hated my job and the commute. The combo of crappy job with people I'd cross the street to avoid, and riding the TTC during rush hours was making me an angry and sullen person. I needed an outlet and bike riding looked like it could be it.

I knew nothing about bicycles except that road bikes intimidated me (they are so sleek and thin, unlike me) and the mountain bike store employees ignored me and my questions when I tried to speak with anyone. I finally found a friendly bike store that steered me to an inexpensive comfort bike and I was smitten. I bought her, upgraded the rear rim, spent months adding fenders, a rear rack and a front basket. I took slow cautious rides in the nearby park, then walked my bike a kilometer to a cemetery to practice street riding and finally rode on neighbourhood streets.

Over the winter I poured over city maps, planning easy going routes to work. I tried out those routes and found others during the spring. Then it was summer, my self declared "Official Start to Bike Commuting". I left for work on my bike with an extra hour in case I needed it. I did, but the extra time meant I wasn't flustered or taking risks I wasn't experienced enough to handle. And it was AMAZING fun! Kinda stressful but not the same angry, frustration from work stressful. I loved the new challenge and being outside.

A year later I had some money saved (that $100 bucks a month for my transit pass) and some other cash saved from no longer indulging in lots of cakes to sooth my harassed soul and I quit my job. Next to getting my bike, it was the best move I ever made.

As far as I see it, buying a bike saved me from a nervous breakdown I figured was around the corner.

I was 340 lb and I was poor. I'm still poor, but I'm at 12% bodyfat; health is the first wealth. And I've got some classy bikes, taboot.

It's hard to find parking spots around here and there is a lot of traffic congestion, so I started riding.

Paul

Good for you!